edanna

My friend who lives in Forest Hill runs Goodness Goodies selling various free-from sweets and chocs online: http://www.goodnessgoodies.co.uk

I think they do listen - I used to contact them regularly to complain about how busy the buses were several years back and it did get better. Of course there may not have been a direct causal relationship there but the more contact they get about particular routes the more likely they are to assess them. It's best to supply the most specific evidence you can - dates, times, numbers etc.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi clux, > With a new secondary school on the Dulwich > Hospital site you should be fine if you live > within a 2 mile radius Setpmebr 2016. > If you want to email directly happy to work > through the likely scenarios with you. That's a reassuring message but not if the admissions were to be by lottery. I appreciate the arguments in favour of lottery but favour the relative certainty of admissions by distance only.

Have a look at https://www.codeclub.org.uk There's a postcode search facility and it looks like there's a club at Dulwich Hamlet. There are other similar things but I can't remember the names - try googling coding for kids London or similar.

And you can renew online.

That is exciting James. Do you know if the demolition is likely to cause any disruption to traffic going past - bearing in mind the recent chaos on that spot? Or to the accessibility of the station?

James, have you seen the Dementia Manifesto for London? http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementiamanifestolondon

I want my children to go to a school where each child is treated as an individual, encouraged to find and pursue their interests and talents, whether those are creative, academic or sporty. There should be a pastoral system that gives staff the time to take an interest in the wellbeing of every child, with staff and a culture that cares about the pupils, not just results.

My oldest wants to dress up as Rumplestiltskin. Aagh. Any ideas appreciated.

Adding banding isn't going to stop the issue of people moving close to the school to get into it. I think it's more or less impossible to stop that other than having a lottery system like Kingsdale, which I wouldn't support. One of the big problems with secondary school applications in this area is the lack of certainty. If admissions to the new school are by distance and you live close enough to the school or whatever 'nodal points' are chosen, then you can be reasonably certain of getting a place. I appreciate that doesn't bring certainty for people who are on the outer edge of the catchment area but it will certainly help a lot of people. And hopefully if there are enough school places locally then in principle that should remove the incentive to move a short distance to get into a particular catchment.

James, there's also the impact on shops along there.

Ole this is not your fault - he's lucky to have a mum that takes him to do so many things!

It doesn't sound like you could do much more Ole. I feel exhausted just reading all the things you do! My son was nearly 5 when he started school and he was so ready for such a long time beforehand. I used to feel sorry for the nursery staff who had a few autumn-born boys who had clearly outgrown the setting. I'm not sure I can suggest much other than to say hang on in there - it will get easier when the weather is better. And it certainly should get easier when he starts school though I appreciate September may feel a long way off. Is there anything that he's happy to sit down with on his own, lego for instance, where you can set him a challenge to build the best castle/ship etc ever and then photograph and send the pics to relatives?!

I think you def need to take her to the GP ASAP.

It sounds outrageous. Really feel for you. But you need to know what you signed, if anything. I hope you can get this resolved quickly.

We had a childminder who looked after my son and her own son from when they were both about 1, initially for 2 days a week and then 3. From our point of view it was amazing because the boys had such fun together and she was brilliant at taking them to playgroups, parks etc. Our son also had lots of individual attention because she wasn't looking after any other children. I think it was probably pretty tiring for her sometimes and not highly paid but it allowed her to be at home with her own son. The boys are still good friends. Then we happened to both have daughters a couple of years later so with the boys in nursery she looked after the two girls who had a great time together too. To be a childminder rather than a nanny you operate from your own home and need to be registered but maybe you would feel more in control of your own destiny? And the other child would get dropped off and picked up rather than you having to get over to someone else's place.

I'm no lawyer but I think the burden of proof is with the nursery - ie they must show they provided you a service for which you have not paid, or produce a copy of a contract you signed saying what you would have to pay if not taking up the place/leaving without sufficient notice. Generally you would just forfeit your deposit. But you really need to get them to demonstrate what grounds they think they have for pursuing you in this way.

Also you could try the Usborne puzzle adventures - several are collated in one book called Adventures in Puzzle World.

I'm not sure if these are the right level reading wise but it's worth looking at Astrosaurs (on offer with Book People) and maybe the How to train your dragon series. And what about the BFG and some other Roald Dahl titles?

It's worth considering a small company because they can build a bespoke kitchen for a lot less than Plain English etc. conflict of interest alert - my other half has such a company. I'm not going to post the name here because this is supposed to be a plea to support all small businesses!

If there is rubbish everywhere then that is an environmental health risk so it's worth giving the env health dept a call.

As others have suggested, it sounds like you need to pick an area you want to live in, can afford and is convenient for work and then find a place to live preferably near one or two schools, or more. As others have said if it's 3-form entry there is more chance a place will come up. Trying to find a school with current places is a red herring IMO - these things move quickly so just because a place isn't free now it doesn't mean one won't come up soon. My son is in year 1 at Bessemer and there have been 3 new children in his class (1 of 3) since September. I know there's an element of risk but I don't think you can avoid that.

Yes oimissus that is exactly how it works. Though someone offered their 6th choice may well subsequently be offered a higher choice, thus freeing up a place.

davidhudson_uk@hotmail.com

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The East Dulwich Police Sgt. has told me today: > > "Well the good news is that yesterday our > pro-active unit arrested a LARGE group of people > for buglary in a neighbouring area. We have > already recovered a very large haul of property > from the dulwich burglaries." > > Figers crossed we'll see a dramatic fall in > attempts and actual burglaries. James, do you know if there is any way of viewing recovered property? There are things we lost in a burglary that I'd really like to be reunited with!